Dave's Fiery Front Page

I have been exchanging emails with chilehead Dexter Holland, lead singer of The Offspring, who just bought a copy of The Complete Chile Pepper Book. He writes, "Got the complete chile pepper book in the mail today...nice one! Looks great, very professional, very informative. I might even try some growing now!" I wrote back and suggested hydroponics under grow lights aboard his private jet!

I'll be off to the Bay Area November 10 for Round Two of Kingsford University. I graduated a couple of summers ago when it was held in Arizona (see the article here), but apparently this one is graduate school. Melanie Yunk of Melanie's Fine Foods will be a student with me and two of our instructors are the delightful Corinne Trang, author of Noodles Every Day: Delicious Asian Recipes from Ramen to Rice Sticks,

and Chris Lilly, author of Big Bob Gibson BBQ Book: Recipes and Secrets from a Legendary Barbecue Joint. I shot this pic of him at the last Kingsford University class. Read all about him in this article.And finally, my hobnobbing with the stars continued a few weeks ago when I was a Green Chile Stew Cookoff judge during Navy Week at El Pinto. I was rough work to be paired as a judge with KOAT-TV news anchor (and incredibly cute) Shelly Ribando, but somehow I survived.

Lately the Internet has come alive with images of pepper pods that transcend the bounds of common decency. Some unscrupulous people are actually posting them in their blogs to drive more traffic! Imagine! John Perea of Hot Rod Pickles (yes, a real company name) sent me the image to the left of a tumescent pod that I call "Horny Jalapeño." Then there are the images of the pods that women love the most, the infamous 'Peter Peppers', and they are flushed red with excitement. Notice that they are in the hands of a person of the male persuasion. I'm not sure if that's gay or not. And finally, my very own co-author and close friend, Dr. Paul Boland, a highly decorated Regent's Professor at New Mexico State University, insisted, over my vehement protests, that we publish a photo of an immature--but precocious--'Peter Pepper' in our new tome, The Complete Chile Pepper Book. The world is going to hell in a garden basket!

Yes, barbecue has a great historical tradition and many BBQ cooks use techniques several hundred years old. That said, you can't keep restaurateurs from experimenting. Here's what innovative restaurant chefs are doing with barbecue these days.

Do You Believe Any of the Following Statements? 1. The "locavore" movement (shopping and eating locally) is a good practice. 2. Shortening food miles (the distance your food travels) helps the environment. 3. Organic gardening and farming techniques are superior to traditional methods. 4. GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are inherently evil. 5. Eating meat is a perfectly acceptable practice.

If you do believe any of them, you may be totally wrong and all of these statements are completely false, according to James E. McWilliams, author of a new book entitled Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly. This is a shocking book because it rationally explores and deconstructs all the objections to popular ideas about what constitutes a healthy and ethical diet. McWilliams, an associate professor at Texas State University and the author of A Revolution in Eating, the best food history of U.S. colonial and post-colonial food, goes way, way out on a limb here, and in an email last week I told him to watch his back because of the backlash of true believers in the above statement. I think he makes excellent arguments and that the other side of the story should be told. That said, this book is not easy reading--you have to pay close attention, have an open mind, and be something of a skeptic yourself. I would like to hear comments--but only from people who have actually read the book. You can buy the book here.

For those of you who missed it, here is a link to "Extreme Conventions" that ran on the Travel Channel, as posted on You Tube by a fan, not by us. It's great publicity and I really appreciate it, but it only portrays the superhot component of the show, which in reality is a very, very small part of the show, which focuses on gourmet spicy products that won't burn you out. My niece Emily complained that I was not given enough coverage, and my 21-minute interview was cut to 8 seconds, but hey, the program was not about me, as I'm not particularly extreme. At left are the "German Chilli Police" with the folks from CaJohn's Fiery Foods.

Here's an excerpt from my new book with Dr. Paul Bosland, The Complete Chile Pepper Book. The book is hardcover, 336 pages, 250 full-color photos, 85 recipes (with food shots). Is is organized like this:--About Chiles --Top 100 (or so) Chiles for the Garden --Capsicum Cultivation --Processing and Preservation --Cooking with Chiles

If you want a signed copy, buy the book here then send me a stamped, self-addressed envelope along with your name and dedication, and I will sign a faceplate for you that you can stick into the front of the book.Dave DeWittP.O. Box 4980Albuquerque, NM 87196

Yes, they eat chiles in Finland. My friend Jukka Kilpinnen has reported on his his bonzai chile plants in Finland, and there's a Finnish Chile Association. They recently conducted their Chile-Eating Championship that featured the deadly 'Naga Morich', a cousin to the 'Bhut Jolokia'. Read all about it here!

I've tried many of the small grills like hibachis and Cobbs and they work fine, but still you have to dispose of the ash, clean them out, pack them up, and carry them home from the beach, picnic, campground, tailgating headquarters, or garden party (remember the Rick Nelson song?) But with the EZ Grill it's a no- brainer because you just put out the coals with water, sand, or dirt, and then throw it in the trash. It's called a single-use grill, and these have gained a 50% share of the charcoal grill market in Australia and the U.K. It gets 90 minutes of cooking time and is in 13,000 stores in the U.S., including 7-Elevens. They come in a regular size with four of $19.99 or a party size of two for $19.99. You can find retail locations or order online here.

With the publication of my new book with Paul Bosland, The Complete Chile Pepper Book, imminent, it makes sense to start featuring some recipes from it. This one will help you use up some of those excess poblanos in your garden.

(Photo by Norman Johnson; food styling by Denice Skrepcinski)

Poblano Pepper RingsSince poblanos make some of the tastiest chiles rellenos, it makes sense that they fry up deliciously. Why not dip these rings in guacamole?

Combine the flour, salt, pepper and cayenne and mix well. Transfer the mixture to a plate.

Heat the oil in a large pan until it just begins to smoke, then lower the heat slightly. Take the poblano rings 4 at a time, dip them in the flour, shake off any excess, then dip them in the buttermilk and back into the flour. Drop them into the hot oil and fry until lightly browned.

Repeat with the rest of the rings and then drain on paper towels. Serve them warm.

My friend Chef Ethan Diness, who is a culinary instructor at Central New Mexico Community College, is also a barbecue aficionado who competes on the cookoff circuit. A few days ago he asked if I would like some smoked elk ribs. I only had to think about this for about a tenth of a second before I enthusiastically agreed. They were absolutely delicious and I asked him for his method.

Ethan responds here:

I was hired by the New Mexico MOTO-GUZZI riders club to cater an event this month. As we discussed the menu details, the local state representative Matt Forslund and I talked about some elk Matt had at the time. I chose a smoker full ribs and some venison.

I used my favorite off-set smoker which is well seasoned and started with half a charcoal chimney of lump-mesquite charcoal. I then added my blend of woods to use : hickory, apple,and a small amount of plum wood. After the smoker heated up to temp I added 9 racks of elk ribs which had my 5-X Rib Rub applied the night before.

I used a rib rack and smoked these racks for 4 hours at low heat, turning them each hour. I then painted them with Weasel #9 sauce as the finish from the smoker. I then gave them to Dave DeWitt and suggested he finish them at 190 F. in the oven for 3 hours in a small covered cooking vessel with beer added for moisture and flavor. He did that but told me he ran out of beer and substituted a hearty red wine.